This invention concerns the storage of carbonated or otherwise pressurised beverages and their dispensation from such storage means.
The storage of beverages in containers having a collapsible bag in a box is well known. They are particularly convenient for dispensing a small part of the total contents while preventing access of air to the remaining contents. Their convenience and cost effectiveness has led to the wide adoption of 2 to 20 liter versions of such containers in domestic applications, particularly for wines, and up to 20,000 litre and larger versions commercially. There has been a limited use of steel cans as a receptacle for the collapsible bag, but a cardboard box has proven to be the most popular type of receptacle for the bag. However despite the undoubted potential, to date a suitable container which provides the convenience of such xe2x80x9cbag in a boxxe2x80x9d containers has not been available for carbonated beverages such as soft drinks, sparkling wines and beer.
If a conventional bag in a box configuration is used for dispensing carbonated beverages, as the liquid is used the bag remains inflated to the full volume of the box with an increasing volume of gas in the bag. This loss of gas from the liquid to the vapour space is at the cost of reduced carbonation of the liquid.
An object of the present invention is to provide a suitable container in a form which allows the dispensing of a small or large quantity of pressurised liquid at any time while maintaining the necessary pressure within the container at all stages of its emptying.
Accordingly, in one aspect the present invention provides a container for the storage and dispensing of carbonated beverages, said container comprising:
a rigid shell having, at its base internal to the shell, a first sculpted surface as herein defined;
a bladder, for retaining a liquid, housed within the shell;
valve means in communication with the inside of the bladder and the outside of the shell;
compression means within the shell but external to the bladder and adapted to apply a continuous force to a piston means;
said piston means interposed between the compression means and the bladder, the surface of the piston adjacent the bladder having a shape complementary to the first sculpted surface thus forming a second sculpted surface; and
guide means for biasing the piston means, under action from the compression means, against the bladder;
wherein, in use, the second sculpted surface of the piston acts on the bladder thereby shaping the bladder according to that surface and, as liquid is drawn from the bladder via the valve means, the piston is urged by the compression means towards the first sculpted surface at the base of the shell and mates therewith when the liquid is exhausted.
In another aspect the invention provides a method of dispensing a carbonated beverage comprising:
(i) housing within a rigid container a bladder containing said beverage,
(ii) applying a compressing force to the bladder by way of a compression means located within the container but outside the bladder, and
(iii) activating a valve communicating between the inside of the bladder and the outside of the shell to dispense the carbonated beverage.
Preferably the bladder is compressed by a piston means biased against the bladder. Preferably the bladder is elastic and contracts as the beverage is dispensed.
In a further aspect the invention provides a screw cap for closing off an externally threaded aperture of a container said cap comprising:
(a) a base wall;
(b) a peripheral skirt carrying an internal thread adapted to mate with said aperture""s external thread;
(c) a hollow spigot portion extending from the base wall within the cap, and co-axial with said skirt, and attached to said base wall by a frangible connection;
(d) grooves or thread formed on the outside wall of the spigot portion adapted to engage the wall of the bore in said aperture.
The grooves or thread formed on the outside wall of the spigot portion may comprise circumferential rings raised from or let into that wall. Preferably said grooves or thread formed on the outside wall of the hollow spigot portion comprises a thread of opposite hand to the thread on the peripheral skirt of the cap.
In a further aspect the invention provides a method of sealing a container aperture comprising an axial bore passing through an externally threaded surround, said method comprising:
(a) engaging a cap with said external thread on the surround to seal the aperture, said cap comprising:
(i) a first portion comprising a base wall and a peripheral skirt carrying an internal thread which engages with said external thread on the surround;
(ii) a second portion comprising a spigot having an axial bore therethrough and extending from the base wall within the cap and coaxial with said skirt, said spigot portion having engagement means formed on its outside wall; and
(iii) a frangible connection by which said first and spigot portions are joined;
(b) engaging said engagement means on said spigot portion with mating engagement means formed on the wall of the surround""s axial bore;
whereby the act of unscrewing the first portion of the cap to unseal the aperture causes rupture of the frangible connection and the spigot portion to separate from said first portion and be retained within the surround""s axial bore.
In a further aspect the invention provides a method of sealing a container aperture comprising an axial bore passing through an externally threaded surround, said method comprising:
(a) engaging a cap with said external thread on the aperture to seal the aperture, said cap comprising:
(i) a first portion comprising a base wall and a peripheral skirt carrying an internal thread which engages with said external thread on the surround;
(ii) a second portion comprising a spigot having an axial bore therethrough and extending from the base wall within the cap and coaxial with said skirt, said spigot portion having an external thread formed on its outside wall; and
(iii) a frangible connection by which said first and spigot portions are joined;
(b) engaging said thread on said spigot portion with a mating internal thread formed on the wall of the surround""s axial bore;
whereby the act of screwing tight the cap to seal the aperture causes rupture of the frangible connection and the spigot portion to separate from said first portion and be retained within the surround""s axial bore.